Beatrice from Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing

In Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing" Beatrice shows characteristics many women can relate to, or strive to be like. She is a strong female character, feisty, cynical, sharp, witty, smart, and loyal to her family. Beatrice is the niece of Leonato, and cousin to Hero. For most of Beatrice's adult life she has sworn off love for herself, although she does approve of it for Hero. She has strong emotions, whether being happy or angry, and she shows them. She ultimately is scared of getting hurt, and her sharp wit and aversion to marriage are ways to mask her insecurities and vulnerability. Beatrice is tired of men, specifically Benedick, having all the control. She takes control into her hands by speaking her mind proudly and for all to hear. She is rather sarcastic, which I personally can relate to. Her sarcasm, sharp wit, and strong independence are a shield because she is actually scared of getting hurt by love and by Benedick. Beatrice is good at is saying exactly what she wishes, and though her tongue is sharp, more often than not her tone is merry. She is portrayed as a happy person.

However, when Benedick's name is mentioned her personality changes and she becomes more defensive and gets a harsher tone. It's not every day, especially during the time of Shakespeare, that a woman insists they will only get married when men are made of metal. Yet, Beatrice declares her aversion to marriage in just such a manner. Shakespeare portrays many feministic qualities in her and he is ahead of his time in this aspect. In fact, she says she would rather hear a dog bark at a crow than have a man tell her he loves her. Perhaps one of the reasons for her aversion stems from her worry that a man, such as Benedick, might wound her heart or leave her. She declares as much in one of her more serious moments when she says she knows Benedick well and, though he had desired marriage with her at an earlier time, she could not hear of it because she worried, he would not take their union seriously. As the play progresses, we see all that we know about Beatrice remains the same with the exception to her aversion to marriage for herself as she finds herself falling for Benedick, who matches her in wit and speech, and is as equally stubborn as she. Although she appears hardened and sharp, Beatrice is really vulnerable.

Once she overhears Hero describing that Benedick is in love with her, she opens herself to the sensitivities and weaknesses of love. Beatrice is a prime example of one of Shakespeare’s strong female characters. She refuses to marry because she has not discovered the perfect, equal partner and because she is unwilling to give up her liberty and submit to the will of a controlling husband. Everyone knows the "perfect partner" does not exist, so she is holding out for no one. Despite Beatrice's disdain for Benedick, it is obvious that she enjoys a battle of wits, for that is all the opportunity she has to speak with him. As such, we aren't really surprised when, upon the schemes of their friends, the two fall for each other. Yet, even before the scheming of the other characters to get Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love, we can see how the pair fit one another. We see what the other characters see: that the only good match for Beatrice is Benedick and vice versa.

Beatrice’s relentless hilarity could easily typecast her in the role of a jester in the play, but her barbs are laced with insightful commentary and often inspired by penetrating understanding. She sees the absurdity of the world and instead of being melancholy; she chooses to laugh at it, which is a sure sign of wisdom. She could even be considered the towns a fool, except for when things get really dire, during Hero’s first wedding day, and demand seriousness, and she is the first to deliver the passion that the events demand; she asks Benedick to kill Claudio. Beatrice’s transformation from a jester to righteously angry woman isn’t shocking; we know she feels deeply, is smart, and able enough to transfer her feelings into their appropriate outlets, whether that's good humor or anger.

As the play and her character develop, we realize what we might be considering pride is really Beatrice’s fear of being vulnerable to love. She has been burned before, so Beatrice isn’t willing to give herself over entirely to love. Beatrice shows loyalty to her cousin above everything else. Beatrice is self-aware enough to realize she’s fallen victim to love. She’s been hurt before, and she’s afraid to be vulnerable; if she were to be made vulnerable, she wouldn’t quite know how to deal with it. Beatrice’s pride, though she’s consciously fighting it, gets in the way of admitting her folly in love, and she uses her wit as a defense. Once she realizes she is in love with Benedick and he loves her back, she consumes her time with fighting to do right by Hero, to distract and distance herself from Benedick. When she commands Benedick to kill Claudio to show he truly loves her, she is setting him up for an almost impossible task, for Claudio is Benedick’s friend. She is willing to walk away from Benedick when he won’t commit to righting Hero’s reputation because of her loyalty to her cousin and so she can have an excuse as to why she should not be with Benedick. Beatrice’s test of Benedick’s love is how seriously he takes her loyalty to Hero.

Ultimately, Benedick comes through, or at least tries to, but Beatrice is still a bit guarded. When asked to publicly declare her love, she’s hesitant, and uses her wit to almost walk away from Benedick in the end. Only when her love is revealed through a stolen love letter, she wrote is she willing to admit her affection for Benedick. After her love is declared, she still teases Benedick, but he takes it and loves her for it. Beatrice, more than any character in this play displays the realistic characteristics of a brilliant woman in love. She’s afraid to be vulnerable, she’s resents being weak, a lovesick fool, and all of these characteristics combine make her hesitant to dive into a romance headfirst. In this way, unlike Hero, who gives over her love like an obedient girl, Beatrice is a wise and warm woman. She is defended by her wit only up to a point, but when the time comes for love, she’s self-aware and realistic enough to realize that she just has to take the risk and hope for the best. Her red-hot wit, combined with her vulnerability, arguably make her the play’s most notable and memorable character. Beatrice is actually a soulful, but tough, character. She is relatable in for she kept putting up shields in defense of the fear of getting heartbroken by Benedick. All she wants is a man who will treat her as an equal and will love her for all her flaws, which Benedick proves to be able to fulfill all the tasks required to be Beatrice’s man. All women want this, and to feel like they matter and are more than just a sexual object. Beatrice’s attitude, charisma, and strength make her a character many women can relate to or at least strive to be like her.

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